Ruth Joan Kortlever Statema went to be with her Lord and Savior on Tuesday, May 26, 2020. She is remembered for her fun loving spirit, her servant heart, and her deep concern that her grandchildren have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Ruth was born on April 27, 1931, to Florence and Raymond Kortlever, the 3rd child of four. Along with her two older brothers, Harold and Robert, and her younger sister, Betty, she lived and worked on the 70-cow family dairy. She attended Ebenezer Elementary school through the 8th grade, later earning her GED through correspondence courses. Ruth met Bernard Statema when he came from Hull, North Dakota to visit his older brothers in Lynden. After about a year of letters and visits, they were engaged, and Ruth's parents took a trip to North Dakota to get to know Bernie and his family better. Ruth and Bernie married on September 22, 1948. They lived in Lynden two years, and, with 8-month-old daughter, Shirley Jean, moved to North Dakota to run his parent's farm. Three years later, they moved back to Lynden with their toddler son, David Allen. There, they purchased a 78 acre dairy farm on Double Ditch Road. Bernie and Ruth worked hard, side by side, to establish the farm and to provide for the Christian education of their children, a very high priority for them. In 1976, they sold the farm. They did some traveling, and lived in Bellingham, Marysville, Everett, Lynden, Arizona, Puyallup, then back to Lynden and into Lynden Manor assisted living where Bernie passed away in 2009. They were married 60 years. Ruth had a lifelong enjoyment of embroidery, knitting, crocheting, gardening, playing games, reading, and more recently, beading and collecting owls. She liked to have fun and laugh. Ruth was a servant: to her parents, to her husband, Bernie, especially in his last years of Alzheimers; to elderly relatives she cared for in her home, to her daughter and grand-children as Shirley succumbed to cancer in 1993. She touched people wherever she was placed, even impacting the care staff at Lynden Manor and finally the hospital staff at her life's end. She is survived by her brother Harold (Laura), son David (Elaine), 6 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. Ruth was interred into Momumenta Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Lynden Christian Schools, 417 Lyncs Drive, Lynden, WA 98264. Ruth’s funeral arrangements are entrusted to Gillies Funeral Home and Cremation Services.